Hillary Clinton makes gaffe

Hillary Clinton made a rudimentary political mistake Saturday at a fundraiser; the Democratic presidential candidate went after her opponent’s voters instead of her opponent, calling half of them “deplorable.” However, her claim, as politically incorrect as it may be, has an air of truth to it.

The full quote:

“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people — now 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks — they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America.”

The former Secretary of State went on to say that the other half was “desperate for a change” and that “those are people we have to empathize with as well.” The statement about the other half got too little attention from the vast array of 24-hour news we’ve grown accustomed to. Politically speaking, Clinton’s statements may not have have been in her best interests, as there are things a politician can’t say. The good news: I am not a politician.

Donald Trump is indeed a candidate worthy of the title “deplorable.” His sexism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and blatant racism is perfectly described as deplorable, and anyone that tries to advance his racist, sexist, xenophobic and Islamophobic agenda could be described, in my unprofessional opinion, as deplorable.

If you think voting for Donald Trump in November will uplift your socioeconomic status, that’s respectable. His policies may appeal to you. Who doesn’t like a tax cut? But his history of systemic oppression of minorities as seen in his skewed housing ‘policies’ in New York is abhorrent, and detaching yourself from this is impossible, this needle cannot be thread.

Although, there is evidence to support that a sizable portion of his supporters don’t choose to ignore the undesirable aspects of the Republican nominee. That sizable portion wholeheartedly believes in his racist, sexist, xenophobic and Islamophobic platform.

A poll by Reuter/Ispos found that “Nearly half of Trump’s supporters described African-Americans as more ‘violent’ than whites. The same proportion described African-Americans as more ‘criminal’ than whites, while 40 percent described them as more ‘lazy’ than whites.”

Another Reuters/Ispos poll found that an astonishing 58 percent of Trump supporters have a “somewhat unfavorable” view on Islam and 78 percent believe that Islam is more likely to inspire terrorist activity than other religions.

The poll that really jolted me into a state of disbelief was conducted in February in a Public Policy Polling survey. The poll was conducted in South Carolina among likely Trump voters. The poll was, quite frankly, flabbergasting. It found 80 percent of those surveyed supported a ban on Muslims, 38 percent wished the South had won the Civil War, 33 percent support the practice of Islam becoming illegal and 31 percent support a ban on homosexuals from entering the country.

On Saturday, Hillary Clinton issued a statement saying that she “regretted saying ‘half’ – that was wrong.” Put the percentage wherever you please, it is irrefutable that there are Trump supporters that are indeed deplorable.

I can respect supporting core Republican values, finding Hillary Clinton or her policies unappealing, but I cannot sympathize with supporting Trump or his fiscally irresponsible, xenophobic, unemployable, unrealistic, rabble rousing, basket case policies. I understand but remain steadfast in believing that there are deplorable voters and that they support Trump.